And here is my bike: Jewel of the Desert
Before:
And after:
So called because it seemed like anytime I was showing the bike to a friend during the build, one of us would describe the 400F as "jewel-like". It's a lovely little thing, beautifully proportioned, just enough twinkle of chrome to shine, but painted as they were in primary colors, they always seemed like toy motorcycles to me. The diminutive size made it about perfect for my wife - I had a vision of the two of us riding up to Alice's Restaurant back in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California where we lived, me on my CBX and she on Jewel. We moved before I could finish the project, taking our California girl with us. I just finished her finally this week, about 18 months after I bought her.
Jewel had been poorly loved before I got her, even with a scant 15,000 miles on the odometer. The APO sold her to me claiming to have rebuilt the engine, brakes, fork and swingarm, among other things. Said the bike just needed "finishing up".
Here's one of the leaky engine seals that were not replaced:
Bent centerstand and headlight bracket:
Broken throttle shaft on the carbs he 'rebuilt':
New muffler he hammerred on to install:
Broken bolt in the top clamp:
Here's the fork he rebuilt (the other was leaking too and the springs were shot)
He installed this swiingarm, after having it powdercoated:
Here's the front brake, post his 'rebuild':
...and the master cylinder:
Here's the shifter after he spent three months trying to assemble it and the transmission. Main arm is by this time bent and the spring upper left is installed incorrectly putting way too much pressure on the indexer:
One of the shot clutch springs he reinstalled after he 'rebuilt' the engine:
Here's the crankshaft alternator seal:
...and one of the transmission shaft bearings:
...and one of the primary shaft bearings, cocked:
So that's what I had to work with...
